2 Hizb militants killed in Pulwama

ADNAN LONE AND ADIL BHAT ARE CLOSE AIDES OF MILITANT ANOTHER COMMANDER RIYAZ NAIKOO

SRINAGAR: Two Hizbul Mujahideen militants were killed by security forces in a gunbattle in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Thursday, a day after top Lashkar-e-taiba commander Naveed Jatt and his associate were gunned down in Budgam.

Police identified the militants as Adnan Lone and Adil Bhat. A police spokesperson said a cordon and search operation was launched jointly by the police and security forces in predawn hours based on a credible input about the presence of militants in Sharshali area of Khrew in Awantipora.

“As the searches were going on, security personnel were fired upon by militants. The fire was retaliated leading to a gunfight,” the spokesperson said.

“Adnan Lone was the district commander of Pulwama for Hizb,’’ the spokesperson said, adding that both militants were wanted in a number of crimes, including attack on security establishments and civilian atrocities.

Lone was one of the top Hizb commanders and a close associate of another commander Reyaz Naikoo.

“He (Lone) had escaped from encounter site at Srinagar earlier and many terror related cases were registered against him,’’ said the spokesperson. Adil Bhat was also a close associate of Riyaz Naikoo, who was involved in the killing of head constable Ashiq Hussain at Awantipora in October 2017.

Meanwhile, police identified the militant, who was killed along with Lashkar commander Naveed Jatt in Budgam on Wednesday, as Mehrajudin Bhat, a resident of New Colony in Sopore.

Bhat was arrested and after his release had joined militant ranks. Clashes erupted in Sopore after the funeral and police used tearsmoke shells to disperse the protesters.